Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi does not know whether his side have the squad depth required to cope with a hectic run of games.

The Seagulls’ European dream suffered a big blow on Wednesday night as they were beaten 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, where De Zerbi said his players lacked energy just three days after they lost the FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United on penalties.

They now have eight games to play in a month as they aim to qualify for European football for the first time in their history.

Asked whether his squad is light, the Italian replied: “I don’t know. For sure I am honest and I don’t want to speak in this way when we lose the game.

“I am proud of my players even though we lost. We will speak with (chairman) Tony (Bloom) at the end of the season. We are suffering too many injuries in this moment.

“I said this game was the most important game of the season. I knew the game was very, very, very tough. It was very tough for the energy but for the head too. The big teams are used to playing today, tomorrow, at four o’clock in the night, at nine o’clock in the morning, in the afternoon with the rain or sun. We are working on this.

“I think we can reach this level. I am speaking with Tony (Bloom). If we want to reach this level I think it is better to say I know the way. I will work hard to reach this level. I am not speaking about the table, I am speaking about the mentality.”

For Forest, victory gave their survival chances a much-needed shot in the arm as they climbed out of the bottom three.

Boss Steve Cooper was delighted that his side stuck to a plan to deliver a first three points in 12 games.

“We were never going to have a competition of possession or passes with them, because that wouldn’t have been the right plan,” Cooper said. “I asked the players at half-time to continue, not to get too frustrated – because some parts of the game they wouldn’t have enjoyed greatly – but I said they would get their rewards.

“We scored the second goal completely from the plan. The little box they play in midfield, with the centre-backs and the midfield players, is good, but if you do get it, it’s a really open pitch. We managed to take advantage of that.

“The players stuck to the plan brilliantly. It’s not as if we’ve been winning every week, so for the players to show that mentality and confidence in the game…We should take a lot of heart from that.”

Nicola Wilson’s medal-laden eventing career ended and her life changed forever following a catastrophic cross-country fall at the prestigious Badminton Horse Trials last year.

But the 46-year-old Olympian’s inspirational determination to seize what she describes as her “second chance” knows no limits.

She readily accepts that life will never be the same again, but her ongoing recovery from a neck injury that severely affected her spinal cord and all four limbs – she spent more than three weeks in intensive care and five months in hospitals 260 miles apart – has proved heroically defiant.

Nicola Wilson, who had a fall at Badminton today, is stable but has been transferred to Southmead Hospital for trauma scans and further investigation. JL Dublin has returned to his stable, and is comfortable.

We're thinking of Nicola and her connections, and wish them well. pic.twitter.com/1vuzfB6OPT

— British Equestrian (@BritEquestrian) May 7, 2022

“I am living with it every day,” Wilson told the PA news agency, in an exclusive interview.

“What I can and can’t do has changed enormously, which is a constant reminder from the moment I wake up each day to the moment I go to sleep. That will not leave me, I don’t think.

“But equally, it is what it is. I can’t undo it, so we have just got to make the most of what we have.”

As a rider, North Yorkshire-based Wilson was among the world’s best, helping Great Britain to team silver at London 2012 alongside Zara Tindall, Tina Cook, Mary King and William Fox-Pitt.

GOLD medal Wilson! ?

Wonderful Nicola Wilson's dreams came true. With a textbook round on the divine JL Dublin, @BritEquestrian's star of the show had us in awe in Avenches! ? pic.twitter.com/RKDR5txqaz

— The FEI (@FEI_Global) September 26, 2021

She was also crowned European individual champion in 2021, while seven other major championship medals included world team gold and three European team titles.

Her partnership with Badminton ride JL Dublin had made such an impact in recent seasons that many astute judges had them firmly in the selection mix for next year’s Paris Olympics.

“Dubs”, as he is affectionately known, is now in the equally expert hands of double Olympic medallist Tom McEwen, and while Wilson’s Paris hopes have been cruelly snatched away, her strong connection with the sport she adores remains.

She runs popular coaching clinics and eventing master-classes, while media work will mean an emotional return to Badminton next week for the 2023 event.

Wilson’s fighting spirit, family support unit led by husband Alastair and network of friends and colleagues inside and outside the sport, including the British Eventing Support Trust, would top any medal podium going.

“I was on the ground and thought I was winded because I couldn’t breathe,” she added. “There was somebody kneeling near to me, and I was trying to say I couldn’t breathe, but of course no words came out, and then it was lights out for me.

“The reason I couldn’t breathe was not because I was winded but because I was paralysed. Nothing was working, my diaphragm, nothing. I was surviving on the air I had in my body – then I disappeared.

“There was an army consultant anaesthetist, who I think was the first to me. He saw how I landed, knew it wasn’t good and held my neck and head. The Badminton medical team were amazing. If the fall had happened somewhere else, there is no way I would be here now.

“From then on, I knew it was serious, I knew there and then I would be retiring, but I just hoped and prayed that I would recover enough to have a quality of life.

“I don’t feel bitter. We do a dangerous sport and something like this could always happen. Life is for living, and I feel incredibly fortunate that I have been given a second chance.

“Yes, life is incredibly different to what it was before, but there are also qualities that have come out of that.”

More than three weeks at Southmead Hospital in Bristol were followed by four months in the spinal unit of James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough.

But through it all, Wilson’s fierce drive never waned. Feeling sorry for herself has not once entered the thought process.

“I was back in the land of the living and stable with my breathing when I left Badminton, and then the paralysis bit was the next issue we needed to deal with,” she said.

“Bit by bit I could start to wiggle my toes, I got a little bit of movement into my legs, so I could bend and move them. They obviously had no strength, stability or co-ordination in them, but I could feel them.

“You have to be resilient. I felt if this was my next hurdle in life, it was something I needed to overcome. I am inclined to be more of a positive person than a negative one – where there is a will, there is a way.

Eventer Nicola Wilson has been named leading rider for 2017 by the British Equestrian Writers' Association.

Wilson helped Great Britain win team gold at the European Championships in Poland and climbed to world number two behind Germany's Michael Jung. pic.twitter.com/JOAAGO2GUX

— PA Sport (@pasport) December 14, 2017

“The will was there, and the way were the hospitals, their support, their care. I have a fighting inner me that wants to drive on and stay positive.

“When I came out of hospital, I came out with a wheelchair and was on crutches. My injury was an incomplete injury to the spinal cord, so I was going to be able to carry on improving. A complete injury means exactly that.

“I was adamant that the wheelchair went back. If I couldn’t walk to wherever I wanted to be, then I couldn’t go there until I was strong enough to do it. It was my challenge, my competition to compete against myself to try and make sure I carried on improving and getting stronger.

“I think about what I can do, not what I can’t do. Yes, it is frustrating, because by the time I have got myself out of bed, brushed my teeth, got myself dressed and downstairs, I feel like I have done a marathon.

“I can do a lot of things – it just takes me a very long time. I can now put a coat on, just, but it takes a long time and I am aware it takes a long time. People are so kind in helping me. I just need to keep doing it and keep practising it.

“My body feels very strange, but it is fighting for me and digging deep. The improvement will be up to two years. I am halfway through my improvement span, so we will see how I am this time next year.”

Tottenham acting head coach Ryan Mason has acknowledged part of his role over the next month is to restore a connection with the supporters.

Spurs saw their season hit a new low on Sunday when they were thrashed 6-1 at Newcastle after they trailed by five goals inside 21 minutes.

It saw many away fans leave St James’ Park before half-time and while the squad have since promised to reimburse the travelling support, a toxic atmosphere could occur when Manchester United visit on Thursday night with chairman Daniel Levy set to again bear the brunt of criticism.

Mason, who threw his name into the hat for the managerial job on Wednesday, said: “I think the fans know what I feel for this club.

“They’ve always been great with me. I played for this football club and was fortunate enough to be captain, as well. They know my opinion and how much I want this club to succeed. The players know that as well.

“Ideally when you have a football club doing well on the pitch, the fans are with you. And I want the fans to be with us. But I understand that we need to give them a reason to be with us.

“And, yeah, that’s part of my job absolutely. It’s part of any manager’s job to create a connection and an alignment between players, academies, fans – the whole football club.

“It’s probably the biggest job of any manager and one I’m keen to do. The fans know that I care and want what’s best for this football club.

“Hopefully we can get performances and results which warrant them coming along with us.”

Mason unexpectedly put himself forward as a candidate to be Antonio Conte’s long-term replacement having also performed a caretaker role in 2021.

During his previous stint, which lasted seven matches, the former Tottenham midfielder played with a 4-2-3-1 system which was synonymous with his old manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Conte preferred to use wing-backs during his tenure and last weekend saw Spurs, under then-acting head coach Cristian Stellini, go with a back four for the first time in 15 months.

It ultimately ended in disaster at Newcastle and while Mason hinted it is likely he will revert back to Conte’s trusted 3-4-3 formation for the visit of Manchester United, he insisted doing the basics right is more important than any system.

“The most important thing is a reaction,” Mason added.

“We have to realistic and understand we’ve got injuries in key areas, which probably hasn’t been spoken about enough at times. We’ve got some key players missing in key areas of the pitch.

“The formation is the formation. The most important thing for me is how you approach the game: the aggression, the passion, the desire to run and compete as a team, because we see many different formations and systems be successful over the years.

“Arguably Tottenham’s most successful season (2016-17) came with three at the back. That’s just football.

“The fans buy into and connect with the feeling they get from players. Not so much the system or formation.”

Aaron Ramsdale claims Arsenal will not give up on their title dream despite Wednesday’s shattering loss at Manchester City.

The Premier League leaders crashed to a 4-1 loss at the Etihad Stadium to lose control of a title race they have dominated for most of the season.

City’s emphatic victory took the champions within two points of the Gunners at the top and, with two games in hand, Pep Guardiola’s treble-chasing side now look firm favourites.

April has been a frustrating month for Arsenal, with three successive draws preceding the trip to Manchester, but Ramsdale is not ready to throw in the towel.

The England goalkeeper said: “We’re going to be disappointed now but we haven’t played nine months of Premier League football, and played the way we wanted to play, to give up with five games to go.

“If anything is going to happen in football, it is this league it is going to happen in. It might not do – but stranger things have happened in the Premier League.

“You see how tight it is at the bottom, you see how tight it is at the top, so we are going to be pushing every game – with five games left we need to win five games – and we will see how that ends at the end of the season.

“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ll get over it and the manager will do what the manager does and dissect it and tell us and we will do everything we can.”

? "We’re definitely disappointed that we can’t send them home with a smile on their faces, but if there’s one thing about this set of fans which I’ve seen over the last 18 months, they don’t give up."

We heard you all night, Gooners ❤️

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 26, 2023

The game failed to live up to its billing as a heavyweight contest as City completely overran their visitors.

Kevin De Bruyne struck twice either side of a John Stones header as City effectively wrapped up victory inside 54 minutes.

It might have been even worse but for the fact Erling Haaland spurned a host of chances – most of them saved by a defiant Ramsdale – but the prolific Norwegian wrapped up the scoring late on after Rob Holding grabbed a consolation.

“Disappointment is the key word,” said Ramsdale. “When you give arguably one of the best teams in the world at the minute a bit of a leg-up in the game and are 2-0 down at half-time, it is a tough task to overcome.

“We know we are better than that but also this is where we want to be and the team we want to be like and be competing with.”

For Ramsdale there was some personal satisfaction in thwarting Haaland for most of the game, making four fine saves from the striker, but he was frustrated to concede to him in injury time.

The 24-year-old said: “I’m devastated I got to 94 minutes and 50 seconds – it was probably the goal I am most annoyed about, which I should save.

“But it was a good battle and hopefully I can have these battles with other players as well.”

Ralf Rangnick believes Julian Nagelsmann could enjoy a "very exciting story" if he becomes the next Tottenham head coach.

Former Manchester United interim boss Rangnick rates Tottenham as a club with huge potential and believes it could be an ideal next step for former Bayern Munich boss Nagelsmann.

It appeared Nagelsmann was a firm contender for the Chelsea vacancy until he pulled out of the running, seemingly paving the way for Mauricio Pochettino to come in.

Having won plenty of admirers during successful spells with Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig before leading Bayern to the Bundesliga title last season, Nagelsmann has impressive credentials considering he is only 35 years old.

Speaking to German broadcaster Sky Sport about Spurs and Nagelsmann, Rangnick said: "It can be a very, very exciting story. There is room for improvement, a lot of room for improvement, and yet this is not a club where you're expected to finish in the top one, two or three right away."

Rangnick is working as head coach of the Austria national team, but he has significant behind-the-scenes experience in the club game as a sporting director and knows Nagelsmann will need support should he be installed at Tottenham.

For that reason, Rangnick says the north London club must be sure to appoint a sporting director, having recently lost Fabio Paratici who lost an appeal against his 30-month ban from football, which stemmed from his time at Juventus.

Regarding Nagelsmann, Rangnick said: "If Tottenham really want him, then I think it would be important if a sporting director was still there to support him."

Rangnick added: "I think Tottenham is an exciting club in many ways. They probably have one of the most modern, beautiful stadiums in the world at the moment. They have one of the best training centres around, and [chairman] Daniel Levy, who has been leading the club for many, many years."

Tottenham's next manager or head coach will want to sharpen up the team's defending.

 Spurs have conceded 51 goals in the Premier League this season, exceeding their expected goals against (xGA) figure of 41.83 by 9.17.

Ahead of Thursday's game against Rangnick's old club, United, that disparity stood as the biggest negative gap between goals conceded and xGA In the English top flight this season.

The xGA figure reflects the quality of the opposition team's chances and likelihood of scoring from those opportunities.

They sit seventh in the table as a result, having conceded the most goals of all among the Premier League's 14 highest-placed teams.

Exeter boss Rob Baxter has dismissed reports that England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie’s move to French champions Montpellier is under threat.

Cowan-Dickie has been sidelined by an ankle injury since early January, while he is also understood to be suffering from some nerve issues in his neck.

It has been suggested that 29-year-old Cowan-Dickie missed a recent medical in France, riling Montpellier chiefs, who have also signed his Exeter and England colleague Sam Simmonds for next season.

“I’ve had discussions with Luke and he said he hasn’t failed his medical. It is something that has massively been blown out of proportion,” Exeter rugby director Baxter said.

“I think he is popping over again just to finish off a couple of bits the French would like to investigate in terms of his injuries.

“He hasn’t failed a medical and he hasn’t not turned up for a medical.

“I am not saying it is totally pie in the sky because everything has a little bit of truth in it. But as far as he has not turned up and they’ve rolled up the contract and thrown it away, that is not the case.

“If the element (of truth) is a drink in a bar at some stage, then I would say probably yes. Other than that, I think there has probably been a fair bit of journalistic licence in a few things that have happened.

“I believe they (Montpellier) want some more information on the nerve damage around the last operation.

“All I know is Luke has said there has been a fair bit of over-hype around everything. At this stage, Luke is being told everything is okay. Reports it is all done and his contract is over couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Cowan-Dickie is among a number of Exeter players leaving the club this summer, although Chiefs would step in if the Montpellier deal fell through.

“If it all falls through, I would expect us to have a look into the possibilities of trying to, at the very least, look after him during his injury rehab and go from there. That would be my expectation,” Baxter added.

“He has been a very important player for us, he has played in some significant games for us. We would look to do something to look after him, of course we would.

“The nerve issue is a timescale one. Historically, they can take a long time or you can recover quickly. It is a bit ‘how long is a piece of string’?

“I know England are investigating if there is anything they can do to speed up the process, as we are, but it is not a problem that has a definitive answer.”

YOUR SEMI-FINAL FIXTURES ?@leinsterrugby ? @StadeToulousain @staderochelais ? @ExeterChiefs

Who will make the #HeinekenChampionsCup Final? pic.twitter.com/daVy4jHvuD

— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) April 9, 2023

Chiefs’ England wing Jack Nowell, meanwhile, is set to be involved in Sunday’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against La Rochelle in Bordeaux after recovering from a knee issue.

It will also be Nowell’s first appearance since he was charged with conduct prejudicial to the interests of the Rugby Football Union and the game after his Chiefs team-mate Olly Woodburn received a second yellow card in Exeter’s 62-19 Gallagher Premiership defeat against Leicester.

Woodburn had dived on Chris Ashton on the floor and upon seeing referee Karl Dickson’s decision, Nowell said in a since-deleted tweet: “I’m actually in shock, like shock shocked. What the hell is happening? That’s one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen. EVER.”

The England wing accepted the charge at a disciplinary hearing and was fined £10,000.

? – @exeterchiefs star @nowellsy15 fined £10,000 for online remarks made on his Twitter feed during @premrugby clash with @LeicesterTigershttps://t.co/yOhZ65gbjS pic.twitter.com/bdzx1l1qFp

— Exeter Chiefs (@ExeterChiefs) April 20, 2023

Baxter said: “He is a bit disappointed and frustrated with what happened around his tweet. It was one of those scenarios where he has used incorrect language to express a frustration with the game.

“Anyone who knows Jack, and knows his relationship with referees, will know there was nothing in there personally targeted at the ref.

“It can end up looking like that, he is aware of that, he has apologised for what he did and he has just got to get on with things now.

“It is a lesson for other players that sometimes you can react in the heat of the moment. You have just got to be careful what you say.”

Manchester City and United supporters travelling to the FA Cup final look set to face disruption after train drivers announced three fresh strikes in a long-running row over pay.

Members of Aslef will walk out on May 12 and 31 – and when Wembley hosts Manchester City and Manchester United on June 3.

The union said it has rejected a “risible” four per cent pay offer from the 16 train companies it remains in dispute with.

General secretary Mick Whelan said drivers have not had a pay rise at those companies since 2019.

He said on Thursday: “Our executive committee met this morning and rejected a risible proposal we received from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).

“The proposal – of just four per cent – was clearly not designed to be accepted as inflation is still running north of 10 per cent and our members at these companies have not had an increase for four years.

“The RDG, in turn, rejected our proposals to modernise Britain’s railways and help them run more efficiently, for passengers and for businesses, in the 21st century.

“Consequently, we have today announced three more days of strike action on Friday May 12, Wednesday May 31 and Saturday June 3 at the companies with which we are in dispute, and which are letting down passengers, and taxpayers, so badly.

“We are also withdrawing non-contractual overtime from Monday May 15 to Saturday 20 inclusive, as well as on Saturday May 13 and Thursday June 1.”

The train operating companies involved in the dispute are: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, London North Eastern Railway, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway, SWR depot drivers, SWR Island Line, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.

The May 12 strike will be held the day before the Eurovision final in Liverpool.

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: “This is disappointing news for our customers and staff, more strike action is totally unnecessary and will only heap more pressure on an industry already facing an acute financial crisis. Senselessly targeting both the final of Eurovision and the FA Cup final is disappointing for all those planning to attend.”

The PA news agency has contacted fan groups attached to the Manchester clubs for comment.

Iga Swiatek considers it a sad state of affairs to see women's tennis lagging so far behind the men's game when it comes to regular tour prize money.

The WTA Tour's top-ranked player earned $120,150 for winning the title at the Stuttgart Open last week, plus a Porsche sports car, when she beat Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Yet for taking the title at the Barcelona Open in the same week, a cheque of €477,795 ($527,000) went to Carlos Alcaraz.

Those tournaments are considered comparable in terms of status and the quality of their fields, yet the difference between the money on offer was striking.

It offered a reminder of the gap between the elite men and women at regular tournaments, despite grand slam events offering equal rewards.

Swiatek and Alcaraz both compete this week at the Madrid Open, where prize money for men and women is equal, the champion of each event collecting €1,105,265 ($1.2m).

Asked about last week's situation, Swiatek said: "Well, it's kind of obvious what my opinion is, because tennis is one of the sports where we speak about equality. I think it's better than most sports anyway.

"But still, there is a lot we can work on in terms of getting equal prize money on some WTA tournaments compared to ATP on the same level.

"Grand slams are already even, as we know. That's nice, but for sure it would be good if WTA would focus on that, but I don't really want to get into that, because it's a lot of business and sometimes politics.

"I don't think I have a lot of influence. I just can say that it would be nice for our sport if it was equal, especially because we kind of do the same work."

The 21-year-old Polish player defended the women's game as she said: "I also get people who are saying that men's tennis is nicer to watch and guys can do more because they are physically and biologically stronger.

"I think there were a lot of people, for example a couple of years ago, who were saying that WTA is not consistent and that's a shame and it should be better, but right now basically I think we are even more consistent than the guys with our game.

"Watching women's tennis gives the same emotions, and sometimes even more emotions, because we are women and we are a little bit more emotional. But, yeah, I think it would be nice if WTA could make it even."

LeBron James knows he has "got to be better" after he was "not very good at all" in the Los Angeles Lakers' 116-99 Game 5 playoff defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.

The Grizzlies kept the series alive at 3-2 with a comfortable victory at FedExForum, where Desmond Bane scored 33 points and had 10 rebounds.

Ja Morant also had a big night for Memphis, finishing with 31 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers were unable to wrap up the series.

James could only muster 15 points and was taken off by head coach Darvin Ham after spending 37 minutes on court 

The legendary 38-year-old turned his attention to ensuring he delivers on Friday after falling short of his usually sky-high standards.

"Just got to be better. It starts with me. Tonight I was not very good at all. My defense was pretty good.

"Offensively, I was not really good. So, we've all got to do a better job helping one another."

James added: "I'll be better in Game 6."

Bane is adamant the Lakers will not finish off the job in Game 6.

"I said it out there, and I’ll say it again," Bane said. "We are going to be back for a Game 7 in front of the best fans in the NBA."

Wembley will celebrate its 100th birthday on Friday, the anniversary of the first FA Cup final it hosted between Bolton and West Ham.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the landmark moments from the old and the new stadiums.

Chelsea’s Didier Drogba scored the winner in the 2007 FA Cup final, the first to be played at the new Wembley (PA Archive)[/caption]

Manuel Akanji insists there will be no complacency at Manchester City following their emphatic win over title rivals Arsenal.

The Treble-chasing champions took firm control of the title race as they overpowered the Premier League leaders 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

The victory took them within two points of the Gunners at the top and, with two games in hand, they now look strong favourites to secure their fifth league crown in six years.

“It was a big game and a massive win for us,” said defender Akanji. “It helps us a lot but there’s still so many games to play.

“Seven games – still 21 points to grab so we can’t relax now on this win. We’ve got to go on Sunday and win the next game against Fulham.”

Arsenal had seen their once-healthy advantage eroded with three successive draws heading into the hotly-anticipated encounter.

City, having hit form with 11 wins in their previous 12 games in all competitions, not only sensed their opportunity but ruthlessly took it.

They tore into the visitors from the first whistle and took the lead as Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne combined for a superb breakaway goal after seven minutes.

John Stones added a second just before the break but City might have already been out of sight by then with Haaland having spurned a host of chances.

Goals from De Bruyne, Stones and Haaland put Arsenal to the sword in @premierleague title clash! ?

Here's how it happened ? pic.twitter.com/36s6scZq7F

— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 26, 2023

De Bruyne’s second early in the second half wrapped up the win before Haaland got the goal his performance deserved – his 49th of a remarkable campaign – late on after Rob Holding netted an Arsenal consolation.

It was City’s third victory over Arsenal in just over three months, a strong statement against the side that have been their toughest challengers this season.

Akanji feels the team’s experience of success in the latter half of the campaign has come to the fore.

The versatile Switzerland international, who joined the club from Borussia Dortmund in September, said: “The whole team played really good and had a really good team performance over 90 minutes.

“We were strong in the duels, we were good with the ball and that was different to the game at the Emirates.

“Then we used our chances and we played well defensively and I think that’s the key to these wins, (as is) the experience that the guys in the locker room have.

“They won three championships in the last four and the experience that they bring into the team, and for me also as a player to come into the team, helps.”

It is 100 years since Bolton beat West Ham in the 1923 FA Cup final to establish Wembley Stadium at the core of English sport.

Officially a crowd of 126,047 packed into the new venue, then known as the Empire Stadium, although estimates suggest up to 300,000 attended a game later dubbed the “White Horse final”, and it has since witnessed some of the biggest moments in the nation’s sporting history.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the most memorable matches to be staged at both the original stadium and the one which replaced it in 2007.

The Matthews Final

Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews was 38 as he sought an FA Cup winners’ medal at the third, and perhaps last, attempt in May 1953.

His hopes looked forlorn when Bolton’s Eric Bell put his side 3-1 ahead 10 minutes into the second half, but inspired by Matthews, the Tangerines fought back with Stan Mortensen completing a hat-trick before Billy Perry scored a stoppage-time winner.

The Magical Magyars

Matthews was on the receiving end six months later when Olympic champions Hungary arrived in North London and taught England a lesson.

A team which included Matthews, Mortensen, Billy Wright and Alf Ramsey were taken apart on home soil with Nandor Hidegkuti plundering a hat-trick and captain Ferenc Puskas scoring twice in a 6-3 victory labelled the ‘Match of the Century’.

Henry’s hammer

Boxing came to Wembley in June 1963, when British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper fought 21-year-old Cassius Clay.

A bloodied Cooper dumped the American – soon to change his name to Muhammad Ali – on his backside with a savage left hook at the end of the fourth round only to be himself stopped in the next by a man who defeated Sonny Liston in his next fight to take the world title.

1966 and all that

On July 30 1966, Geoff Hurst lit up the old Twin Towers with the first World Cup final hat-trick in England’s 4-2 victory over West Germany.

Hurst, who had cancelled out Helmut Haller’s opener before Martin Peters took the hosts to within seconds of glory only for Wolfgang Weber to equalise, struck twice in extra time, the first of them with the help of a still disputed call from Azerbaijani linesman Tofiq Bahramov, to claim the Jules Rimet Trophy.

Bobby dazzler

A decade after the Munich Air Disaster which had claimed the lives of eight of his players, Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby guided his rebuilt team to the pinnacle of continental football when they beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley to lift the 1968 European Cup.

Bobby Charlton’s double either side of goals from George Best and Brian Kidd secured glory in extra time as United became the first English club to lift the trophy.

Gray day for Sunderland

The 1998 Championship play-off final yielded one of the most dramatic contests ever fought out at headquarters as Charlton eventually edged their way into the Premier League after a roller-coaster 4-4 draw with Sunderland.

The sides could not be spilt despite Clive Mendonca’s hat-trick against his home-town club and the combined firepower of Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn, and ultimately Sasa Ilic’s penalty shoot-out save from Michael Gray won the day.

Noisy neighbours

The home of English football provided temporary accommodation for Welsh rugby union while the Millennium Stadium was under construction, although they proved ungrateful tenants.

Victory over Wales would have handed England a 1999 Five Nations Grand Slam, and they led 31-25 until Scott Gibbs’ superb late try and Neil Jenkins’ conversion sent the crown to Scotland instead.

Lionesses roar

A crowd of 87,192 packed into Wembley on July 31, 2022 to witness England’s 2-1 extra-time victory over Germany.

Ella Toone’s superb finish had given Sarina Wiegman’s side a 62nd-minute lead, but after Lina Magull had levelled to take the tie into extra time, Chloe Kelly stabbed home and clinched the Lionesses’ first major title.

Wembley has become one of world football’s most revered football stadiums over the last 100 years, but only survived its infancy thanks to a Scotsman and some greyhounds.

The first FA Cup final at what was then called the Empire Stadium took place on April 28, 1923.

The stadium had been built in 300 days, at a cost of £750,000, for the following year’s British Empire Exhibition, which was held to demonstrate Britain’s enduring colonial strength in the wake of the First World War.

There were concerns over whether the 1923 final between Bolton and West Ham would even manage to draw a full house to the 125,000-capacity stadium, but ultimately it took mounted police to clear the pitch in order for the match to kick off due to overcrowding.

It has been estimated that well over 200,000 people gained access to the stadium for the match, which became known as ‘The White Horse Final’ after a light grey horse called Billy, ridden by policeman George Albert Scorey and who showed up white in the black and white images of the time, helped clear spectators from the pitch.

Bolton beat West Ham 2-0 in a match which kicked off around 45 minutes late.

Despite the popularity of that contest, the exhibition itself which followed in 1924 and 1925 was considered a commercial failure, and the stadium was all set for demolition had it not been for the intervention of two key individuals.

Sir James Stevenson, a Scot who was chairman of the exhibition committee, lobbied for the stadium to remain open, while Arthur Elvin stepped in to stop it going to the dogs by organising greyhound races on the stadium’s track, starting in 1927, which made Wembley financially viable.

Wembley is most closely associated with football but has hosted a myriad of other sports over the years – some more successfully than others.

The NFL has enjoyed great success in bringing its International Series of regular-season matches to the stadium, which has also hosted some enthralling boxing contests from Cassius Clay v Henry Cooper in 1963 to Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.

An attempt to popularise ski jumping in the UK by hosting a Winter Sports Exhibition – in late May – featuring a 150-foot jump constructed out of scaffolding did not catch on quite so well, and appears set to remain a one-off.

In an era before football enjoyed blanket coverage, the FA Cup final at Wembley was for many years one of the only games to be regularly televised internationally, making it a venue players all around the world dreamt of playing at.

Pele, the Brazil great who died late last year, said it was his biggest regret that he never played a match at Wembley, which he described as “a cathedral of football”.

The old stadium’s place in English football folklore was secured when it played host to the 1966 World Cup final, with the home team winning the trophy thanks to a 4-2 extra-time victory over West Germany.

By the 1990s, however, there were fresh calls for the stadium, now beginning to show its age, to be bulldozed.

Playing host to England’s matches at Euro ’96, with ‘Three Lions’ ringing out from the stands, was the old stadium’s last great hurrah, with its final match a sad, soggy affair in October 2000 as England slipped to a 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Germany which prompted the resignation of manager Kevin Keegan.

The rebuild, which cost over £700million, featured an arch to replace the famous Twin Towers as the stadium’s most eye-catching element.

It remains a go-to destination for national and international football events, and has already hosted two Champions League finals since it reopened in 2007.

What should have been one of its most memorable occasions turned into arguably its darkest day, as England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties in July 2021.

The match was overshadowed by chaos outside and within the stadium. Individuals under the influence of drink and drugs created disorder, with around 2,000 people without tickets gaining entry.

Baroness Casey, who led an independent review into what went wrong on the day, highlighted a catalogue of “near-misses” which could have led to fatalities.

The final Wembley deserved came just over a year later, as England triumphed in extra time against Germany at Women’s Euro 2022.

The five UK and Ireland football associations are hoping to convince UEFA’s executive committee later this year to make Wembley the centrepiece of another Euros – this time the men’s competition in 2028.

Thanks to those who helped it through the uncertainty of its earliest days, the stadium could reasonably hope to still be hosting top-level sports in another 100 years’ time.